George Bradbury (died 1696), was a senior

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

judge who was also a Protestant, he thrived under the absolutist monarchy, but was punished during the Glorious Revolution for past association with the notorious

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving a ...

Youth and education

Bradbury was the eldest son of Henry Bradbury of St. Martin's Fields,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

. Of his early years nothing is known. He was admitted a member of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

on 28 June 1660, was created a master of arts by the university of Oxford 28 Sept. 1663, and was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

on 17 May 1667.

Career

For some time his practice in court was inconsiderable. He first occurs as junior counsel against

Lady Ivy The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

in a suit in which she asserted her title to lands in Shadwell, 3 June 1684. The deeds upon which she relied were of doubtful authenticity, and Bradbury won commendation from Chief Justice Jeffreys who was trying the case, for ingeniously pointing out that the date which the deeds bore described Philip and

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, in whose reign they purported to have been executed, by a title which they did not assume till some years later. But the judge's temper was not to be relied upon. Bradbury repeating his comment, Jeffreys broke out upon him: "Lord, sir! you must be cackling too; we told you your objection was very ingenious, but that must not make you troublesome. You cannot lay an egg but you must be cackling over it." Bradbury's name next occurs in 1681, when he was one of two trustees of the marriage settlement of one of the Carys of

Tor Abbey Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Co ...

. His position in his profession must consequently have been considerable, and in December 1688, when the chiefs of the bar were summoned to consult with the peers upon the political crisis surrounding the succession to the throne, Bradbury was among the number. In the July of the year following he was assigned by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

as counsel to defend Sir Adam Blair, Dr. Elliott, and others, who were

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

for dispersing proclamations of King James. The impeachment was, however, abandoned. On 9 July, upon the death of Baron Carr, he was appointed to the bench of the court of exchequer, and continued in office until his death, which took place 12 February 1696. The last judicial act recorded of him is a letter preserved in the treasury in support of petition of the

Earl of Scarborough Earl of Scarbrough is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1690 for Richard Lumley, 2nd Viscount Lumley. He is best remembered as one of the Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to invade England and depose his father- ...

, 19 April 1695.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, George Year of birth missing 1696 deaths 17th-century English judges Lawyers from London